Saturday, April 23, 2016

Bodhi was a
popular guy back in high school several years ago. So, when he passed
away unexpectedly from an aneurysm, it's no surprise that many of his
friends might decide to return home to attend the funeral. Among the
pals descending on Albuquerque for the services is Miguel (Eli
Vargas) who picks up a pregnant hitchhiker (Sasha Pieterse) en route
from Chicago. Another is Miguel's roommate, Dylan (Landon Liboiron)
whose mom (Virginia Madsen) hasn't seen her son since he went away to
college. Then
there's Ember (Cody Horn), a promiscuous bimbo who admits to sleeping
with Bodhi despite identifying herself as a lesbian. And Katy (Kaley
Cuoco), who has a child being raised by her grandmother, is out on
probation after spending time behind bars for drug possession and for
leading police on a high-speed car chase.

This motley
crew of mourners and a few others reunite to reminisce, imbibe and
asses the state of their lives in Burning Bodhi, an alternately
whimsical and sobering meditation on mortality. The movie marks the
outstanding writing and directorial debut of Matthew McDuffie who
exhibits quite a knack for capturing the attitudes and angst of
today's twenty-somethings.

His pithy dialogue is laced with lots of
memorable lines like, "May the light at the end of the tunnel is
just you coming out of another vagina." Executing the flip
script is a very talented ensemble led by The Big Bang Theory's Kaley
Cuoco who exhibits an impressive acting range in a role far afield
from the person (Penny) she plays on that popular sitcom.

The plot
thickens when Dylan's jealous girlfriend Lauren (Meghann Fahey) shows
up in time to put the kibosh on any rekindling of romance between him
and his ex, Katy. Meanwhile, Ember can hardly contain her crush on
Katy, who was dumped by Dylan for sleeping with dearly departed Bodhi
right after he left for the Windy City. And so forth.

To
summarize in 25 words or less, this compelling, character-driven soap
opera examines the incestuous coupling, uncoupling, re-coupling,
revelations and regrets among a wacky clique of world-weary
ex-classmates. A trendy, Millennial Generation variation on The Big
Chill which gives that beloved classic a real run for its money.

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KamWilliams.com

The Sly Fox Film Reviews publishes the content of film critic Kam Williams. Voted Most Outstanding Journalist of the Decade by the Disilgold Soul Literary Review in 2008, Kam Williams is a syndicated film and book critic who writes for 100+ publications around the U.S., Europe, Asia, Africa, Canada and the Caribbean. He is a member of the New York Film Critics Online, the NAACP Image Awards Nominating Committee and Rotten Tomatoes.

In addition to a BA in Black Studies from Cornell, he has an MA in English from Brown, an MBA from The Wharton School, and a JD from Boston University. Kam lives in Princeton, NJ with his wife and son.